All Marvel Characters are the property of Marvel. Jake and his family are my own creation. I'm not trying to make any money off this, I just love writing. So, if you want to write a fanfic involving Jake or his family, you need my permission first.

The wedding would be in a few weeks. Mom and I had prepared everything. The church was ready for us to show up, and the guests had been chosen. Mom had taken a few extra invitations, and sent them without me knowing. Or so she thought.

John still wanted us to meet his family. We had to by now, they would be family for the rest of our lives! Besides, we'd been invited.
His family lived in Tuscon. That was a long drive, almost to the Mexican border. But I'd decided I'd get there much faster if I flew. Not wanting me to be bored during the trip, they said it was OK.

Like I said before, flying is wonderful. I could feel the warm desert wind in my hair. I could hear the traffic roaring. It was great.
I got to the city in a half hour, a long time to keep my bio-field up. But I was there.

Mom and John arrived a half hour after I did. John was still amazed to watch me fly. I told him it was no big deal, but he wouldn't agree. It wasn't a really big deal.
"Jake, my parents have been asking about you," he said, to change the subject. "When they found out about you, they couldn't wait."
"John, I know. I'm sure I'll like them a lot."
He smiled, as he always seemed to be doing. He sure smiled a lot.

We pulled up to a large house downtown. It was a few blocks from the high school, I noticed. As we drove up, I saw the door opening.
"Uncle John!" someone shouted. A teenage boy with brown skin ran out of the house, and hugged John. Then he looked at me.
"So, you're my new cousin, eh?" I noticed his voice was without any accent, he spoke like everyone else I knew. He shook my hand. "My name's Jamie."
"I'm Jake," I responded warily. "And yes, I guess we'll be cousins when it's all over." He smiled at this, and gave me a hug. This threw me off guard, because I wasn't used to it.
He let me go, after knocking most of the wind out of me. He found my brother Josh sitting in the van, and went to talk to him. I smiled as I watched him walk away. So far, so good.

The next person to come out of the house came calling to Jamie in Spanish. I had learned Spanish from Mom's books, so I tried to translate.
"Jamie! Where are you going?"
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm just gonna say hello to the new arrivals."
Then she noticed me. She smiled, and walked down the walkway towards me.
"So," she said in English. "You're the one Johnny's been talking about for so long."
That scared me. Did they know?
"Oh, don't worry. We know. But what's the big deal?
I couldn't believe it. She was taking my being a mutant so lightly!
"Yes ma'am."
She grinned. "I'm your Aunt Rosa now," she said. I noticed she sounded like a full-blooded Mexican. She had a slight accent in her speech, and had trouble with certain words. I liked her at once.

I met my future grandparents next, Mel and Michelle Thompson. Mel was just a few inches taller than I was, and didn't exactly look his age. He still had most of his hair left, and he looked more like my father, or should I say ex-father, than he did like a grandpa.
Michelle was nice. She was short, just about my height, and had a cheery look on her face. She said she was a psychologist, and mainly worked with kids. I kidded about setting up an appointment for myself, and then she gave me a hug. Gosh, this family hugs a lot, I thought.

My uncle was the next one I met. He was really tall, maybe six and a half feet tall. He didn't mention much about what he did for a living, but he was very interested in me being a mutant. He wanted to see me fly, and stuff. I gladly showed him.
And that was the first time I met the Thompsons.

I remember a wonderful time after the wedding. The reception was wonderful. I remember Josh announcing he was opening a second comic shop in Tuscon, but not much else.
Mom and John really liked it there, at the wedding. They got so many gifts, she had me open a few of them. It was a wonderful time.
But what I remember most about the wedding was a sort of special ceremony. I hadn't been told about it, not even at the rehearsal. John had a medallion with him, a brass, gold-plated one with three rings on it. One for him, one for Mom, and one for me. I was told it was a way of welcoming me into the family.
I knelt down as he put it around my neck. I was in tears, I was so happy. A family that loved me. Amazing. I hugged him as hard as I could. I didn't care if my powers were flaring up a little bit, I was so happy I didn't even notice.

The reception, if I remember it right, was held at our house in Phoenix. Yeah, that was the place. I loved every minute. Dancing, great food, and I looked pretty good in my tux. I spent at least ten minutes in front of a mirror, checking myself out. I was looking like a teenager. And better, I think.
The way I felt after that, I was sure I could handle anything.

But I wasn't yet ready for what lay ahead.......

Another Portal - Back to the Void